DISINFO: Russia is not a part of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine
SUMMARY
Russia is not a contracting party but, like Germany and France, a guarantor power for the self-proclaimed popular republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. Together with Ukraine, they are the ones who have to implement the Minsk agreements, not Russia. If Russia is accused of occupying the Donbas conflict zone in Eastern Ukraine, then this is complete nonsense and lies.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine and the war in Ukraine. There is irrefutable evidence of direct Russian military involvement in Eastern Ukraine. The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court recognised that “the information available suggests that the situation within the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol amounts to an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation". The international armed conflict began at the latest on 26 February 2014 when the Russian Federation deployed members of its armed forces to gain control over parts of the Ukrainian territory without the consent of the Ukrainian Government. The European Union stated in July 2014 that "arms and fighters continue flowing into Ukraine from the Russian Federation". At the NATO Summit in Wales in September 2014, NATO leaders condemned in the strongest terms Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine and demanded Russia to stop and withdraw its forces from Ukraine and from the country’s border. NATO leaders also demanded Russia to comply with international law and its international obligations and responsibilities; refrain from aggressive actions against Ukraine; halt the flow of weapons, equipment, people and money across the border to the separatists; and stop fomenting tension along and across the Ukrainian border. In 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted Russia's military presence in Ukraine.